Diane Talarico-Cavanaugh, M.Ed. Lafayette School April 13,2011 Structured Teaching - What is it! and Various Other Topics as a Tier 1 Intervention

What is Structured Teaching? A specific antecedent based approach designed specifically for students with autism. This approach utilizes the core strengths of the student with autism to facilitate learning. This approach was born out of the T.E.A.C.C.H. philosophy. T.E.A.C.C.H. was founded by the late Eric Schoppler, PhD. in the early 1970’s at UNC. It promotes the “Culture of Autism” as a way of thinking about the characteristic patterns of thinking and behavior of these individuals.

Goals of Structured Teaching Promote independence & meaning through structure. Transform curriculum/learning tasks into concrete, visual sequences that compensate for Executive Function Disorder and poor communication skills Structure is not faded or removed but is modified and adjusted

Executive Function The ability to: Plan Anticipate Organize Predict Inhibit Executive function is the way we monitor and control our thoughts, actions, emotions and behaviors.

Which students have Executive Dysfunction For many students, the executive functioning system of their brain is not working properly. Executive Dysfunctions are intimately connected with Asperger's Disorder, Autism, ADHD, some Learning Disabilities and have also been found in adults with OCD. Executive Dysfunctions also effect middle schoolers as part of the normal developmental process!!!! It is also associated with depression, to name but some of the conditions.

6 Major areas of impairment in Executive Dysfunction Inhibitory Control Working Memory Cognitive Flexibility

7 Executive Dysfunction often leads to Behavior Causes of Behavior Problems Confusion Expectation (inaccurate) Stimulation (over/under) Lack of order Communication (receptive/expressive) Driven behaviors

8 Behavior Serves a Purpose Compensates for a deficit Comforts Communicates Utilizes a strength

9 What are some behaviors that you are concerned with Not completing work Not paying attention Focused on wrong stuff Overflow of body/hands/mouth Forgetting needed materials Poor organization Social issues Poor impulse control

10 Discipline Issues There is growing evidence that: Problems associated with Executive Dysfunction contribute to most disruptive behavior that result in removal from the learning environment. There is increased demands on executive function skills. Children are exposed to fewer activities that build executive function skills.

11 Executive Function or Hard Work, Discipline and Persistence Evidence indicates that self discipline accounts for over twice as much variance in final grades as does IQ, even in college. Duckworth & Seligman( 2005) EF skills are important for school readiness and are more strongly associated with school readiness than IQ or entry reading or math ( Blair, 2002, 2203, Blair & Razza, 2007; Normandeau & Guay, 1998)

12 So what works? Visual Strategies External Structure Using Their Strengths Preferred interests or desired topics Smaller segments, fewer numbers, tasks broken down Frequent feedback Technology

13 Addressing Executive Function Challenges Why Use Visual Strategies Visuals are not transient and compensate inattention, poor working memory, inability to prioritize/organizenot transient Visuals help sort out or point out what is importantsort out or point Visuals lesson demands on working memory and other executive functionslesson demands

14 Types of Visual supports Color Coding (like science folder, books, notebooks etc. all blue, even what bin to place work into) Strips that contain steps in the editing process such as checking punctuation, checking for capitalization, etc. Visual thought or idea organization (inspiration.com) Highlighting tape

Structured Teaching Antecedent based NOT reward or punishment based Uses competence motivation rather than consequence motivation Levels of Structured Teaching: Physical Structure Schedules Work Systems Routines and Strategies Task

Physical structure Clearly defined spaces so students can visually see what the expectations are for that area Visual structure that supports the task or activity Answers the questions of why am I here and what do I need to do

Schedules Provides a visual (objects, pictures or words) to tell the person what activities will happen and in what order Sometimes it can be faded or changed to match a student’s skills but not eliminated Success does not indicate a lack of need

Work Systems What work? How much do I have to do? How do I know when I am finished? What comes next?

Traditional FBA’s A-B-C Model Antecedents (trigger and slow burn) Behavior Consequence Looking for Functions of Behavior Tangible Escape Avoidance Attention

The Iceberg Model The behavior is just the symptom of the underlying characteristics of autism. Social Relatedness Communication Sensory Processing Difficulty with Change Cognitive Learning Style

Initiative Specific Behaviors (tip of the iceberg) Seems lazy Unmotivated Waits for prompts Overly dependent Underlying Deficits Unable to organize behavior Poor concept of time Does not understand future rewards Does not understand expectations

Strategies See how behavior is misinterpreted as noncompliant, disrespectful, oppositional, impulsive etc. Use the Iceberg Model instead of a traditional A-B-C approach to address underlying skill deficits instead of using consequences to manipulate behavior. Structured Teaching is a behavior regulation system!! USE VISUAL SUPPORTS. Rely on antecedent based strategies. Teach Self-Regulation

The Incredible 5-Point Scale by Buron & Curtis A visual scale describing the escalation phase of behavior or emotion. What the behavior looks like or sounds like. Get student input on what the behavior feels like. People or strategies that can help. The perception of others (added by Diane)